摩西 (Mó xī) — Moses (Biblical figure) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Moses (Biblical figure)

Examples

摩西。
Mó xī Dài yǐ sè liè rén lí kāi āi jí.
Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt.
摩西。
Xǔ duō rén dōu zhī dào Mó xī de gù shi.
Many people know the story of Moses.
摩西。
Mó xī Shì yí wèi hěn yǒu míng de lì shǐ rén wù.
Moses is a very famous historical figure.

Origin

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

摩西 spells the foreign name Moses; the characters carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

麻手摩

Meaning part形符xíngfú

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

麻

麻má摩mó

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

摩 combines 手 (hand) with 麻; the hand part relates to the meaning, and 麻 gives the sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Religion & Belief

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